Fall Is a Great Time to Start a Garden — Here's Why
People often think of spring as the time to begin new gardening projects. We set up vegetable gardens and plant all types of trees, shrubs, and perennials. With summer comes exuberant growth and first harvests. Fall is the end of the growing season where things taper off - we harvest, wind down, and start taking stock.
Not so! Let's rethink that a bit.
Fall is actually great time to start a vegetable garden. It's also the best time for planting fruit trees, berry bushes, and almost everything else. Let's talk through the reasons.
First of all, many of our favorite garden vegetables actually prefer the cooler temperatures and do not thrive during our hot summers. Think carrots, beets, radishes, and sweet peas. Also leafy greens, such as lettuce, arugula, swiss chard, bok choi, and tatsoi. This is the time for crispy lettuce salads and colorful stir fries made with your homegrown produce. And let's not forget garlic - plant it in late fall, then harvest it in June - one clove turns into a whole garlic plant and a small amount of space can yield a large amount of garlic.
Second, the cooler temperatures of fall mean less rampant weed growth and a more enjoyable experience for us, the gardeners.
Third, if you're a new gardener, it's a great way to start small and hone your skills in a less demanding season, before the full growing season of the following year. In addition, building a vegetable garden in the fall ensures that you are fully prepared to take advantage of the spring growing season the following year. Without that prep, it might be May by the time you've done it yourself or hired someone to do it for you (they themselves might be quite busy in the spring and be unavailable to install until late spring), and then you've missed out on the opportunity to make the most of spring.
Finally, fall provides new plantings with two shoulder seasons of low heat - late fall and early spring - during which the plant can focus on growing a strong root system and situating itself in its new home, without needing to also contend with surviving the high heat and potentially droughty conditions of summer. When late spring and summer come the following year, the plant is in a much better position to thrive.
Things to Consider
What is the best place to site your vegetable garden?
Will your garden need protection from deer and other local fauna?
Do you want to install drip irrigation and automate the task of regular watering?
Will you be growing in raised beds or directly in the ground?
How will your garden visually fit into the existing plantings around your house?
Different gardens and different spaces call for different approaches. I find it can be helpful to work with someone who can work with your unique goals, yard, and situation. Perhaps you want to start small and phase in a larger garden over time. Perhaps you're an advanced gardener experiencing an upsurge in deer browse and need a fence around an existing garden. Perhaps you want to redesign an existing ornamental garden bed while leaning on edibles such as blueberries, honeyberries, pomegranates, and figs. Grow Our Food can help. We have a formally-trained designer on staff who will come out and work with your unique situation to generate a custom, a-la-carte quote.
Reach out or explore our services to get started. Happy fall and happy growing!